


a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at

by glazedsun



Series: Stigmatized [7]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 17:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3538712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short drabbles all involving Bobby and Jonas and Bobby's cats. Because... why not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. rules & regulations

**Author's Note:**

> when I wrote this ages ago, bobby still only had the one cat. at that point i didn't know her name, either, so i made it up. :)

The first time the notes appeared, Luca thought they were a joke. There was an entire sheet of paper listing instructions, as well as a few post-its that had been stuck up as after thoughts. He looked down at the cat at his feet who was the subject of those notes. "Really?" He asked her, incredulous. Merlot meowed, as if to confirm that she had her owner wrapped around her paw. "Why am I not surprised?" Luca muttered under his breath, taking the list down and, on the way to the couch, helping himself to some of Bobby's wine. It was the least Bobby owed him for this.

By the time the list got to two pages, Luca wondered how Bobby functioned without him. The lists were detailed, from what time she needed to be fed to what toy to give her based on the mood she was in to instructions to keep her from knocking over alarm clocks. He had been given shorter lists when babysitting for family members, but Bobby was letting him stay there, so he just went along with it. By that point, the cat had warmed up to him, and he found he really didn't mind spending a bit of extra time with her.

The first time that Cam saw the lists, he just laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Luca laughed along, but was surprised to feel a little defensive about them. It wasn't Bobby he felt protective of, but rather the cat, who he'd become quite attached to.

Even though things fell into a routine the nights that Bobby did spend over at Jonas', Luca still found himself getting frustrated. He wanted to go out, but felt an odd guilt even thinking about going out for long periods. It got to the point that Luca finally convinced Jonas to talk to Bobby about just bringing the cat over with him. They were practically living together anyway, why not get the cat involved?

It was easier with Merlot gone, less to stress about. Still, those nights after Cam left and Luca was left alone, he felt quite lonely without Merlot around.


	2. the cuddle cure

Jonas let himself into Bobby's condo with a sigh. The rest of the team was at practice, doing their best to work out what needed to be done to get into the playoffs. And Jonas? Well. He wasn't able to be there. He felt completely useless and helpless. He wanted to be on the ice, facing shot after shot. Instead, he could barely move from side to side without feeling nauseous. Jonas groaned, rubbing his eyes. Even thinking hurt. He just wanted to curl up and sleep until he felt better. It had only been a few days since he'd been starting to suffer through the weakness again, that dizziness and fatigue he thought for sure that he had overcome. It was back, and he hated it.

Carefully, he bent down, picking up the cat that was winding herself around his legs. She let out an affectionate mew, bumping her head against Jonas' neck. He smiled softly, scratching behind her ears. The cat purred softly, but Jonas was distracted by another sound. He looked down to see the two kittens Bobby had gotten him for his birthday ('one for your birthday, and one for Valentine's Day', he could hear Bobby say, making an excuse for Jonas to adopt both of the siblings who had been rescued together) tearing toward him. They tripped over each other, over themselves, but eventually they made it. With a soft laugh, he bent down to the two kittens, ignoring Merlot's sound of protests. The older cat huffed and crawled her way to Jonas' shoulder, eying the kittens distastefully. Jonas couldn't help but laugh at that, and scolded her gently in German. "Shiraz and Chianti are your siblings, be nice." She sighed, but settled to make herself more comfortable on the goalie's broad shoulders, content to ignore the squirming kittens. Jonas shook his head, heading into the kitchen to attempt making something easy for lunch while he waited for Bobby to get home.

-

Once practice ended, Bobby found himself rushing to get through his shower. He just wanted to get home and check on Jonas, see if there was anything he could do for his lover. Of course, in his haste to get ready, he forgot he'd driven with Luca. Bobby sat in his stall with a sigh, checking his phone for the umpteenth time since he'd come off the ice.

"He'll be okay, you know." Bobby looked up, startled by the quiet voice. He met George's eyes, sighing. While he had never actually told the older man about his relationship with Jonas, Georgie had picked up on it long ago. "Trust me, the last thing he needs is for you to get all worried sick over him."

"I know," Bobby said reluctantly. "I can't help it, though. He's just… miserable. He'll never really admit it, but it's so obvious."

George nodded, reaching up to mess with Bobby's hair. "Just be there for him, kid. Help him out when you can, and just be there when there isn't anything else you can do." When Bobby tried to protest, George held his hand up to quiet him. "It's not a normal injury, Bobby. I know it's scary. But you can't get yourself too worked up over it, he doesn't need that right now."

Bobby leaned back and ran his hand through his slightly damp hair. "I hate it when you're right, you know." He chose to ignore the shit-eating grin that was currently on the older man's face. "I hate not knowing what it is, that scares me the most," he admitted softly.

His road roommate nodded, reaching over to pat his knee. "I know, it is. And it's gotta be even scarier for him." George frowned, realizing that was the wrong thing to say when he saw the look of panic on the young man's face. "That's why you need to be there without being over-bearing," George added. "It'll be okay, promise." He stood up to leave, but Bobby stopped him before he could get too far.

"Thanks, Georgie," Bobby said, giving George a sad smile. The older man gave the younger a thumbs up before heading out, and Bobby settled in to wait for Luca. "You ready?" Bobby jumped up as soon as Luca walked over. Luca looked like he wanted to say something, but just nodded and followed Bobby out of Honda Center.

The ride back to their place was mostly quiet. Luca could sense Bobby's concern and opted to keep quiet. Both of them had to smile, though, at the sight that greeted them when they walked in.

Jonas sat sleeping on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table in front of him. His head lolled to the side, and on one shoulder slept Merlot, her head resting on the side of Jonas'. The two kittens were curled up together in Jonas' lap, purring in their sleep.

"How does he do it?" Bobby murmured, his voice tinged with equal parts adoration and amusement.

"What, sleep?" Luca asked, raising an eyebrow and giving Bobby a confused look.

Bobby laughed and shook his head, pointing to his cat who had lifted her head. "No. That." She untangled herself from Jonas and walked across the back of the couch to greet them. She allowed Bobby to stroke her back before batting a paw at him with a loud meow and twisting away to greet Luca. "Spaz," Bobby muttered under his breath, glaring at Merlot with no malice whatsoever. When the cat was satisfied with the attention paid to her, she wandered back to Jonas, who was lifting his own head. "You're like the cat whisperer or something," Bobby murmured, walking over and leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his lover's head. "I don't know how you get my little spaz to nap with you instead of crawling all over you or knocking things down or… everything else she loves to do so much." Bobby loved his cat, he really did, but she was definitely a handful.

"She likes me," Jonas shrugged with a grin.

Bobby sighed dramatically, and Luca couldn't resist jumping into their conversation. "Can you blame her for liking him more?" He said lightly, a smirk on his face. "Who'd chose you over Hillsy?"

"Watch it or you'll need to go find your own place to stay," Bobby retorted, glaring at Luca.

Luca laughed and patted Bobby on the head as he walked by. "You could never get rid of me."

"You're the worst stray kitten of all the ones I've adopted!" Bobby yelled to the retreating, laughing, defenseman. He then turned to Jonas, his face instantly softer. "How are you feeling?" he asked, walking around to sit down next to Jonas.

Jonas shifted so that he could lean against Bobby. He squirmed a few times, until he was satisfied with the way his body curled into Bobby's. "Better. Sleeping helped. Sleeping with you and the cats will help even more." He leaned up to smile at Bobby, who nuzzled his face against Jonas'.

"Oh God, you two are disgusting," Luca groaned as he walked past.

"Do you want me to drop you off at the shelter?" Bobby retorted, glaring up at his young housemate. Luca rolled his eyes and continued into his room, so Bobby turned his attention back to his lover. "Do you want me to get you anything to eat?" He asked, reaching down to stroke one of the kittens, who had crawled over into his lap. Suddenly jealous, Bobby's cat stretched out so that she could bump her head against her owner, trying to get his attention. "God, you are a nutcase," Bobby murmured under his breath to the cat, reaching up to pet her.

"She takes after her dad," Jonas teased, earning a glare from the younger man. He laughed a little, then closed his eyes. "I ate when I got home," Bobby took a moment to let the fact that Jonas had referred to his condo as home sink in, "so I'm good. But you should eat something."

Bobby nodded, pressing a kiss to the side of Jonas' head. "I'll just grab something quick, you go lay down. I'll come join you for my nap as soon as I scarf something down, okay?" A soft sound of agreement came from Jonas, but he didn't move to get up. "Babe, you have to get up to do that," Bobby teased lightly.

This time, a grunt came from the older man. "I'm going, I'm going," he muttered, but still made no move to get up. Bobby laughed, untangling himself from the cats and the exhausted man next to him. He tugged on Jonas' hand until the other man finally stood up.

"Good boy," he murmured, patting Jonas on the head. Jonas murmured words under his breath in German, words that Bobby expected were not g-rated. "Go on," he laughed gently, ignoring the way the other man was glaring at him before trudging off to their bedroom, the three cats trailing behind him like an odd little parade. He wasn't quite sure when he started referring to either his or Jonas' bedrooms as their bedroom, but it felt so natural.

About half an hour later, Luca walked down the hall, hoping that Bobby hadn't fallen asleep yet so that he could ask him a question. He peered into the half-open door of his roommate's bedroom, blinking at the sight in front of him then laughing to himself. They really were a disgustingly adorable couple. Jonas laid on his back, sound asleep. Bobby was on his side, curled up against the other man, one arm thrown across his chest, also asleep. Bobby's cat had made herself comfortable above their heads, while the two kittens looked like one big fluff ball on the blanket over Jonas' stomach. Luca shook his head and stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him and deciding to call his own boyfriend.


	3. technobabble

As the days turned into weeks, Jonas and Bobby both became more antsy. Bobby was as protective of Jonas as he was the cats, and there were times it started to wear on Jonas. They had fought a couple of times, but after spending a few nights apart, Bobby finally heeded George's advice from weeks before. He was worried about Jonas, yes, and he knew that Jonas was upset that things just didn't seem to be getting better. But being overbearing wasn't helping him. He had to learn, at some point, when to back off. Eventually, Bobby found somewhat of a happy medium.

It got harder being away from Jonas as the number of games that Jonas didn't travel with the team grew. They had never been apart like this since they started dating, and it made Bobby even more anxious. Now that he had let Jonas so deeply into his life, and vice versa, he absolutely hated being separated from the other man. But it was a part of their job with Jonas being hurt, and they dealt with it.

With away games, came Skype sessions. Bobby's laptop came out often, usually as soon as he got into a hotel room and before he went to bed. George rolled his eyes at first, but eventually got used to it. That evening, Bobby didn't even change out of his suit before pulling out the computer. He sat back on his bed, signing on. Jonas had been napping when he'd left earlier, but Bobby was hopeful that he was awake by then. He grinned when he saw Jonas sign on, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Hey, babe," he said, pressing his fingers to the screen.

"Hi, chungel," Jonas replied with a sleepy smile, pressing his own fingers against Bobby's. "Why didn't you wake me up before you left?"

Bobby shrugged, still smiling. "You looked comfy. I took a picture, but I didn't have much time anyway."

Shaking his head, Jonas laughed softly. "You are such a creep. How was the flight?"

"It was cute, you with cats piled all over you," Bobby whined defensively, sticking his tongue out when Jonas rolled his eyes.

"You are such a child sometimes," Jonas laughed, his fondness for the younger man's antics apparent on his face.

"Does that make you a pedo, you cradle-robber?" Bobby asked, trying to sound as serious as possible. Jonas just stared at him in surprise before bursting out into laughter. His laughter startled the cats, all three of whom were sleeping nearby. Bobby caught sight of his cat walking over to Jonas, and immediately perked up. "Hey girl!" He said to her, grinning when the cat looked at the screen, pausing mid-step. She let out an excited sound, curling up in Jonas' lap and purring, watching Bobby on the screen. "I hope you miss me as much as I miss you," he cooed to her. "Are Shiraz and Chianti around?"

Jonas frowned, looking around for the inseparable siblings. He spotted them down on the floor, and carefully lifted them up, trying not to disturb the cat in his lap. Of course, she had other ideas, and huffed before climbing off Jonas to sit in the spot he had vacated when shifting over.

That caused Bobby to start cracking up, especially when she just gave Jonas a look when he tried to move back over. "That's my girl," he said proudly.

"Yeah, she's as much of a snot as her owner," Jonas muttered, finding a different position to sit in, which was difficult with the two squirming kittens in his lap. "All our children are now accounted for," he said finally.

"Children?" George asked from where he'd just come back into the room, and overheard Jonas. He looked over Bobby's shoulder, then shook his head when he spotted the cats. "I should have guessed." He laughed at the embarrassed expression on both men's faces. "Well, you make a lovely family. And I'm sure you will make an even better family when there are real children involved." Both Jonas and Bobby went from embarrassed to startled. George patted Bobby on the head, stepping back from the bed and walking over to his own side of the room. "Dinner soon. You coming or staying?"

"I don't know," Bobby sighed, looking from George to Jonas. He wanted to stay and talk with Jonas and the cats, but skipping out on another dinner with the guys, even if it wasn't an official team dinner, probably wasn't the smartest idea.

Jonas shook his head, reading Bobby's thoughts immediately. "You should go, chungel, you'll see me when you get home."

"But we just started talking," Bobby protested with a pout.

"How about this," George interrupted, "I'll go meet the rest of the guys and figure out where we're going to go. Then once we decide on someplace, I'll text you and you can meet us there to give you a few minutes longer with your husband."

Bobby chose to ignore the 'husband' remark, instead focusing on the actual plan. "Sounds perfect." George nodded and finished changing out of his suit before heading downstairs. Bobby turned back to Jonas, smiling once again. He noticed Jonas looked a little surprised by the remark, so he decided to change the subject quickly. "Has Merlot been behaving herself?" He asked, sounding like he was ready to scold the cat if he had to.

"As far as I know, she slept the whole time I did, so, yes," Jonas said, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And perhaps it was. Bobby just rolled his eyes, letting out a soft laugh. Their conversation continued for a few more minutes, until the text from George came. Reluctantly, Bobby decided to wrap up their conversation. "Love you, Bobby," Jonas murmured, pressing his fingers against the screen once again.

"Love you too, Jonas," Bobby replied softly, pressing his fingers to the screen as well. "Give the cats a hug from me, too." Jonas nodded, giving a big smile before shutting down his computer. Bobby did the same, leaning back against the bed with a happy smile. There were moments that were rough, but in the end, things couldn't get much better than they were.


End file.
